Advice from experienced people...

[keyplus90]

I have only driven to Calais for kind of day trips with my family. But now this Summer I want to drive bit further may be for few days. Problem is that I have five kids ranging from 2 to 15 years old so staying in hotels or BB would be expensive. I have no experience of camping. So what are the other cheaper options? And do you have to book in advance all the time? And where are the places with a bit of history, scenery and nice drive etc.

Or am I asking for too much too soon.

[DTCwordfan]

Look at gites (cottages) perhaps in the area that you chose - France is stunning with many areas depedning what you are looking for. Normandy is a good starting point - 2 to 4 hours from Calais.....loads of things to see do and the heart of Calvados...

[DTCwordfan]

they need booking (on line is possible) but there are some lovely cottages to base yourself from - local markets etc for all the food and ask for local restaurants - prix fixe menus are obligatory in French eating establishments be it a local cafe or a 3* Michelin restaurant. Make an effort to speak French even it is just Bonjour ca va? and the French (Normandy) folk are most accommodating to Brits.

[DTCwordfan]

The Champagne area if late summer/early autumn is very nice too..........Reims is beautiful

[horseshoes]

Yes - Gites. That's what I was going to suggest. We visited St Omer (where Douglas Bader's plane crashed apparently) it's a lovely town; but best of all was nearby CLAIRMARAIS. It's an amazing place - a network of canals or similar with little islands with beautiful little houses with gardens full of flowers and vegetables - I think it's marshes. It's absolutely wonderful. You can go on a trip along them on a boat tour with a guide and buy cauliflowers from old men on the canal banks! I can thoroughly recommend it. Some photos in link below.

http://www.google.co....QwAw&biw=1280&bih=574

[naomi24]

I understand the camp sites in France are absolutely excellent. I believe they offer every facility and are kind of luxury camping. No putting up tents etc. If finance is limited, it might be worth your while to investigate a bit more before you dismiss the idea completely.

Failing that, maybe rent something in a central area for the duration of your stay and do days out. Have a look here.

http://www.ownersdire...act_owners%20abroad_E

[keyplus90]

Someone else suggested camping sites earlier once. But my perception (right or wrong) has always been that you have to have your own camp (tent) to put there.

[naomi24]

Oh no. From what I'm told that isn't true at all. You get all mod cons these days - including fridges and televisions. Google French Campsites and have a look. They are reputed to be superb.

[mike11111]

So true to say that the people of Normandy are very welcoming of British people, unlike the folk of Paris who are under the firm impression that they won the war all on their own.

[naomi24]

You, like a lot of people say the same Mike - but I have never had a problem with the people of Paris. In fact Paris is my favourite city in the world. I love it - and its people,

[VHG]

Eurocamp have sites all over france, with tents already erected and all facilities provided.

But they also have sites with caravans, chalets etc

http://www.eurocamp.co.uk/

[VHG]

The channel tunnel web site has ideas for places to drive to from Calais.

http://www.eurotunnel...tels/ukcDestinations/

[jno]

agree with VHG about Eurocamp. Normandy and Brittany are in easy reach of Calais and full of interesting things to see if you want to take day-trips.

The train will take you and your car to Calais; if you want to take a ferry, you can get to other ports

http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/

[Mosaic]

Just a word of caution re. the camping advice contained herewith.
The ready-erected tents mentioned are provided by holiday package companies such as Eurocamp, Keycamp, etc. They are magnificent well-appointed tents but are enormously expensive and are pitched very close together - one good fart has the whole row awake.
The same companies also provide mobile homes - very good and very expensive.
French campsites are on the whole infinitely better-run than UK ones. Provided you don't have a large site that has chosen to cater to UK large-scale, you can generally guarantee quiet after 11.00 pm - kids might be roaring about at 10.59 but at 11, shtum.
Most French campsites are divided up into emplacements - trees and shrubs denoting your pitch - which removes the god-awful British practice of sending out the kids to kick footballs round someone else's tent.
Many French sites let out their own apartments and mobile homes directly, and while these are dear they are much cheaper than going thru Eurocamp etc.
An approach I have often used is to get the brochures from a travel agent, look at a site I fancy then google them to see if they have their own lettings, then contact the site directly.
Many of the large glitzy sites now seem to be Dutch-owned, and often don't accept credit cards (continued)

[naomi24]

If Mosaic says the tents are very expensive, it might be just as well to check the Owners Direct website. There seem to be some very reasonably priced rental properties there. I've only had a quick glance at Normandy, but I'd check other areas too if I were you. (Personally I wouldn't stay in a tent anyway - but some people don't seem to mind).

http://www.ownersdire...nce-normandy-4bed.htm

[Count-A-Strong]

You would be better booking something in advance be it a gite or a tent or whatever as you should get some serious discout off your channel crossing. French motorways have lots of landscaped Aires which are like service areas but less commercialised than ours, so there would be plenty places to stop for the kids and have a pic-nic en-route. Bon voyage!!!

[Mosaic]

You can also get good independent listings from the Michelin guide to camping / caravanning, which gives rich information on sites all over France. It is a pricey buy but a 2010 or 2009 might be cheaper and probably still holds good.
As far as driving goes, if you haven't driven extensively abroad you will want to minimise your baptism so as not to ruin your holiday - plus all those kids chanting 'are we there yet dad?' - so instead of going Calais it would be worth pricing up the longer routes such as Dieppe, and even an overnighter like St Malo or Roscoff. The advantage with the last two is that it puts you immediately into a fantastic holiday zone, so while the costs are high you are getting a lot of distance without driving / ending up weary and tearful. (been there).
I expect if you have one good camping expereince in France you will want to start investing in your own camping equipment -- we went down that route and had years of great family holidays all over France. Camping gear has plummeted in price. And it means the teens can have mini-tents and sleep as long as they want without it being an issue.
Lastly, many of the Eurotent companies offer 'kids clubs' as bait, which are usually half-assed at best and worth avoiding, The kids make their own friends.
Fantastic campsites in Brittany I have used? Port l'epine on Brittany coast; La Plage / la Baie at St trinite sur Mer; Les Prets Verts near Concarneau....but there are literally hundreds.

[Mosaic]

Sorry that shd read La Trinite Sur Mer

[Mick-Talbot]

If you have kids aged 2 to 15, keyplus then look for a campsite (even if you choose to stay in a caravan) with a couple of decent waterslides. My kids aged 4 to 16 spend hours on these.

[keyplus90]

Thanks to all of you. What can I say, you have flooded me with information, lol. What else can anyone ask for. Much appreciated.

[puzzled54]

eurocamp
just the thing for a big family!